Eric on The Road

Journeys into the offbeat, off the beaten path, overlooked and forgotten - by Eric Model

Wednesday, June 30, 2010

Canada Day: Do You Know ...? (via Montreal Gazette)

It's Canada's birthday (July 1). Test yourself about your knowledge of Canada and its governmental institutions and practices....And happy birthday Canada.

Via The Montreal Gazette:


1) Who is Canada's head of state?

2) What is the name of the speech given by the governor general at the beginning of each parliamentary session?


Read more: http://www.montrealgazette.com/sports/Canada+Know/3218624/story.html#ixzz0sKdvPJCL





http://www.montrealgazette.com/sports/Canada+Know/3218624/story.html

Tuesday, June 22, 2010

10 great places to follow Fred Harvey's Old West tracks (USA Today)

From USA Today:

Fred Harvey, it's said, civilized the West. His chain of restaurants and hotels brought high service standards to early railroad passengers. In his new Appetite for America (Bantam, $27), Stephen Fried recounts Harvey's rise from dishwasher to household name. His "Harvey Girls" served as waitresses and inspired an MGM musical starring Judy Garland. These days"Fred Heads" seek out the remains of his empire. Fried shares some favorite spots with Larry Bleiberg for USA TODAY.


For more see: http://www.usatoday.com/travel/destinations/10great/2010-06-17-fred-harvey-sites_N.htm

Saskatoon Railway hotel history on display in tour (Saskatoon StarPhoenix)

From The Saskatoon StarPhoenix


By Jeanette Stewart, The Saskatoon StarPhoenix

When Stefan Deprez moved to Saskatoon to become Director of Sales and Marketing of the iconic Delta Bessborough Hotel, he found people knew little about the hotel's history.

"The Bess" was the last of the great railroad hotels built in Canada. Though construction began at the end of 1931, it was halted by the Great Depression and citizens eventually had to lobby to have the interior finished. It opened its doors Dec. 10, 1935, and to this day maintains elements of the "grand hotel," incorporating the philosophies of world-famous hotelier Cesar Ritz.

In an effort to make the hotel more accessible to the public and part of year-long 75th birthday celebrations Deprez created and leads tours of the historic hotel, allowing him to be "part hotelier and part historian."

http://www.montrealgazette.com/travel/story.html?id=3181410

Wednesday, June 09, 2010

Passing: The Mercury

From The New York Times:

By MICHELINE MAYNARD
Published: June 2, 2010

DETROIT — Edsel Ford conceived the Mercury brand in the 1930s as a way to fill the gap between basic Fords and luxury Lincolns. Now, that gap will again go unfilled.

Commissioned by Edsel Ford, Henry Ford’s son, the Mercury Eight went on sale in 1939 as a model between the basic Fords and the luxury Lincolns.

Ford Motor announced Wednesday that it would discontinue selling Mercury models this fall, ending a 71-year-old brand .

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/03/business/03mercury.html?scp=2&sq=mercury&st=cse

Passing: John Wooden

John Wooden, a staid Midwesterner who migrated to U.C.L.A. and became college basketball’s most successful coach, earning the nickname the Wizard of Westwood and an enduring place in sports history, died Friday June 4, 2010 at Ronald Reagan U.C.L.A. Medical Center, where he had been hospitalized since May 26. He was 99.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/05/sports/ncaabasketball/05wooden.html?scp=1&sq=john%20wooden&st=cse

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=127463928

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/05/sports/ncaabasketball/05wizard.html?ref=ncaabasketball